When Stacey Lannert was 18, she k*illed her father while he slept on the couch in 1991. Stacey shot him twice because her father had ab*used her s*exually for 10 years. Stacey said that her younger sister was also being abu*sed se*xually. Stacey was given a life sentence, but the governor commuted it, and she walked out of prison. She was in prison for 18 years before she got out.
The Abu*se Begins
The ab*use began when Stacey was 8-years-old, occurring only when her father was drunk. Tom said all daughters loved their father “that way.”
Tom was a great dad when he wasn’t drunk. He did all the things that dads do with their kids. Whenever he drank, he turned into a monster that couldn’t stay away from kids, even his own.
Mom Ignores Signs of Abu*se
Deborah, Stacey’s mother, didn’t hear her daughter crying from the basement because she knew what he was doing behind closed doors. She also didn’t pay attention to the bloody underwear she found. Not long after, Stacey saw her dad molesting her little sister.
Abu*se Escalates
When Stacey’s parents split up, she was 13 years old. Her mom moved out, so Tom took care of the girls. She got married again and stopped being in the girls’ lives. What happened was that Tom drank more and abu*sed the girls more often after Deborah left. It’s been said that Stacey’s father ab*used her se*xually up to three times in one week.
Stacey Snaps; K*ills Father
Stacey knew it was time on July 4, 1991. Stacey broke into the house through a basement window, got a gun, and sh*ot her father to protect her younger sister. The man wasn’t ki*lled by the first shot. It hit him in the collarbone. He started to scream and told Stacey to call 911. He told her off for calling for help too slowly, so Stacey shot him again, this time in the head. He died right away.
Her father was de*ad.
The gun was given by Stacey to a friend to get rid of the next day. After that, she called the police to say that her father was de*ad. The friend immediately blamed Stacey.
Arrested & Charged With Mu*rder
Stacey was charged with k*illing her father. The lawyers for her wanted to use the claims of s*exual abu*se as self-defense in court, but the judge wouldn’t let them present any proof to back up the claim. She said she was crazy.
The government said Stacey k*illed her father to get money. She wanted him out of her life and the $100,000 he left her. In the months before the mu*rder, they showed proof that Stacey looked for different ways to k*ill someone.
She told the police that she used her father’s credit card to buy things after k*illing him, but she denied that the kil*ling was for money.
Prosecutors also said that Stacey had talked with friends about how kil*ling her father would make her money. She even thought about what she would do with the money she would get if her father died.
When Stacey went to court, she talked about being s*exually ab*used and how she saw her father raping her sister when she lost it.
Stacey Sentenced to Life in Prison
The jury said that Stacey was guilty of mu*rder in the first degree. She got a life sentence in prison. Stacey asked the Governor to change or cancel her sentence after she had tried all of her other options. On January 10, 2009, the governor said that Stacey Lannert’s sentence would be commuted.
What Happened to Stacey Lannert?
Stacey said she feels bad about k*illing her father, but she says that going to prison helped her find herself and grow as a person.
She made a website called Healing Sisters for people who have been se*xually ab*used. The site gives victims help and information. After that, Stacey got her degree in psychology from Southeast Missouri State University and now works as a public defender.
